


Hi, Yes, Just Looking for a Little Kid

by myglassesaredirty (orphan_account)



Series: Spencer Family Escapades [6]
Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Parenthood, Running Away, anyways this was written in 25 minutes please enjoy, it's scary y'all, like i would know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: Shawn barrels onto Henry's property with one urgent message:Lauren's missing.
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter & Juliet O'Hara, Henry Spencer & Shawn Spencer, Henry Spencer/Madeleine Spencer, Juliet O'Hara & Original Female Character(s), Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer, Shawn Spencer & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Spencer Family Escapades [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1285871
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Hi, Yes, Just Looking for a Little Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know, it's been a while since I wrote for Psych, but I'm not officially back yet! Enjoy either way

“Dad! Oh, Dad, am I glad to see you.” Shawn, instead of using the perfectly good gate, hops over the fence and tramples Henry’s hydrangeas.

Henry sighs deeply and stops watering his flowerbeds. “Shawn, you better have a damn good reas–” Henry furrows his brow when his son gets closer. “Shawn, what’s wrong?”

Shawn shakes his head and peeks around the corner of the house. “It’s –” he takes a shaky breath and pushes a trembling hand through his hair. “Lauren’s missing.”

_ “What?!” _

“Dad, look, it wasn’t my fault, we put her down for her nap, and the tv was on low so that we could hear if she was moving around upstairs and I don’t know  _ how, _ but she just…I don’t know what the hell happened, but she’s gone!” Shawn trembles from head to toe, and when he looks back at his father, his eyes are filled with tears. “Did someone kidnap her?”

Henry grabs Shawn’s elbow and turns off the hose. “Where’s Juliet?”

Shawn swallows heavily. “Um, she’s with Carlton right now. She radioed him for help, and they’re going through some old kid– some old kidnapping cases.”

Once inside the house, Maddy greets them with a trembling chin. “Is everything okay? I heard that Lauren was missing.”

“Mom!” Shawn briefly wraps his mother in a hug. “I know you’re retired now, long retired, and all of that, but can you like…profile a kidnapper that would  _ take _ my  _ daughter?” _

Maddy winces. “Shawn, you have a lot of enemies. I would have to look at all of them and their accomplices.”

“Perfect, I’ll call Jules.” He pulls his phone from his back pocket and takes the stairs two at a time. “Hey, Jules? Is it okay if we send some of my enemies’ profiles to my mom so she can see who was most likely to kidnap Lauren? Yeah, I know, sweetie, I know, we don’t know for sure but –”

Henry grabs his truck keys. “I don’t think she was kidnapped.”

Maddy presses her lips together. “Oh, Henry, do you really think she just– she just ran away?”

He heads out the front door, Maddy on his heels. “She’s Shawn’s daughter, isn’t she? How many times did Shawn run away when he was a kid?”

“Henry,” Maddy breathes, catching his fingertips. Henry stops and faces her. “You know he almost didn’t come back the last time.”

He licks his lips and runs a hand over the top of his head. “Yeah, well, that wasn’t what I was talking about. I was going to go check Gus’s or Lassiter’s place first. Lily is like Ellie’s older sister, and Nicky and Ellie are inseparable. Nothing that Shawn hasn’t done before.”

Maddy squeezes her husband’s hand. “Your son is inside that house, scared out of his mind. Maybe you should tell him what you’re thinking. Hopefully there’s nothing to worry about, but what if there  _ is, _ Henry?”

Henry glances at his truck and sighs again. “Okay, I’ll wait, but only because I don’t think she was kidnapped. As soon as Juliet gets here, I’ll explain what I think to the both of them, and I want you to stay here in case Ellie decides to visit Gran and Grampo.”

He isn’t three sips into his water bottle when Juliet’s car screeches up the driveway and she flies out of the driver’s side. Lassiter is on her heels, trying to grab her shirt just enough to slow her down, but Juliet blows through the front door. “Shawn! Shawn, I have the profiles!”

Lassiter bursts into the kitchen behind her. “I don’t think it’s any of them, O’Hara. It’s not part of any of their MOs.”

Juliet wheels around and jabs her finger into Lassiter’s chest. “Are  _ you _ the one whose daughter is missing?”

Lassiter has enough sense of mind to hold up his hands in surrender and nod to Shawn coming down the stairs. Shawn stopped shaking about three minutes ago, but he’s still pale, and he doesn’t have enough energy to kiss his wife. He can barely afford her a hug before he takes the folders from her hands and passes it to his mom.

Henry clears his throat. “I think I may know where she might be.”

“You do?!” Henry never believed in teleportation before today, but he swears to God they were all the way by the front door one second ago and now they’re standing three inches away from his face.

He gently pushes his son away, to give himself enough room to speak. “Shawn, you used to pull this same stunt when you were a kid. Wait until it was naptime, hear the radio or tv get low, and climb out the window and down the tree to go visit Gus. My bet is she’s at Gus’s or even Lassiter’s. I say we split up.”

Lassiter furrows his brow. “Why don’t we just call?”

There was a reason Henry retired from the force forty years ago. People like Detective Dipstick are one of those reasons.

Shawn pulls out his phone. “Gus? Gus! Is Lauren there with you?” He turns an ice-cold glare to his father. “No? We– it’s a long story, she wasn’t in her room when I went to wake her from her nap. Yeah, I know, and my dad said, ‘No, Shawn, there is nothing to worry about, your daughter is probably just at Gus’s.’ Yeah. Thanks, man, I appreciate it.” He ends the call. “So Gus says –”

Henry holds up a hand. “I get the picture. I still say we split up. I don’t think she was kidnapped.”

Juliet narrows her eyes at him. “Explains why you aren’t worried.”

Now, Henry has always loved his daughter-in-law, but for the first time since he’s met her, he’s angry at her. “Don’t you dare tell me I’m not worried about my granddaughter. I am. But me panicking isn’t going to help matters, it’s just going to make them worse. An objective eye is the best eye, and I get it, you’re terrified for your daughter, but I’ve been through this with Shawn! He didn’t always go to Gus’s house when he slipped out, he would sometimes wander the city. I didn’t recommend driving around for some fresh air.” He shakes his head and grabs his truck keys again. “Don’t you  _ ever _ tell me I’m not worried about my granddaughter again, Juliet. You got that?”

She looks down at the ground. “I’m sorry, Henry, it’s just that –”

“You’re scared, I get it. But being scared isn’t going to solve things, it’s just going to hurt them.” He jerks his head to his truck. “Shawn, you coming with?”

Shawn wipes his mouth. “Jules, if you go with Lassie, we can cover more ground. Mom, will you stay here?”

Maddy nods. “Already planned on it, Goose.”

Shawn scrambles into the truck. “You know, you didn’t have to blow up at Jules like that.”

Henry backs out of the driveway and takes a left, in the direction of the toy store. “I know. But it’s just…I love Ellie, more than life itself, and I’d do anything to protect her. Just because I’m not showing it doesn’t mean I’m not scared.” He blows a breath past his lips. “I got real good at not showing fear when I was on the force and when you would pull this same damn stunt.”

Shawn nods. “I really gave you a lot of gray hairs, huh?”

“Shawn, you were the reason that I  _ lost _ my hair.”

He chuckles and leans against the door. His eyes scan the sides of the road while Henry keeps his eyes on the traffic. “Wait, Dad, stop!”

Henry slams on his brakes, wincing at the honks around him. “What? Did you see something?”

Shawn sighs in relief. “Yeah, Lauren’s over there. By the toy store.”

Henry raises his eyebrows and eases into the parking lot. “What did I tell ya, Shawn? She was going to get herself a new pet elephant.”

Shawn turns to his father with one eyebrow raised. “And her suitcase?”

“I didn’t say stuffed elephant.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr, @ my-glasses-are-dirty, and tell me what you think!


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